BLOG TOUR: Poisoned - Jennifer Donnelly

 

Beautiful Sophie, with lips as red as blood, skin as pale as snow, and hair as dark as night, is about to come of age and inherit her father's throne. But Sophie's stepmother wants rid of her - beautiful she may be, but too weak and foolish to reign. And Sophie believes her, as she believes all the things that have been said about her - all the poisonous words people use to keep girls like her from becoming too powerful, too strong.

When the huntsman carries out his orders of killing Sophie, she finds a fire burning inside her that will not be extinguished, and sets off to reclaim what was taken from her.

Jennifer Donnelly turns her feminist eye to this most delicious of fairy tales and shows Snow White as she's never been seen before.

What did I think?

In my opinion, you're never too old for fairy tales and I love reading retellings of my favourite stories from childhood.  Before I say anything about the content of the book, I have to mention the amazing cover of Poisoned - the shattered red apple is so striking and of course links in to the story beautifully.

Poisoned is the story of Princess Charlotta-Sidonia Wilhelmina Sophia of the Greenlands, whose name is thankfully shortened to Sophie.  Sophie has always been told that she's too weak and too soft to be queen, which suits her stepmother just fine as it means that she can keep ruling with her iron fist.  Taking advice from her magic mirror, the Queen decides to get rid of Sophie once and for all and after being left for dead in the Darkwood, seven brothers take Sophie into their home.

Anyone familiar with the story of Snow White will recognise many elements of the story that keep it true to the original tale published by The Brothers Grimm in 1812.  Jennifer Donnelly puts her own slant on the story by adding a hefty helping of feminism that allows us to see Sophie evolving from a young naive girl to a strong confident woman.  It's actually rather thought-provoking as I'm sure I'm not alone in listening to that nasty inner voice that tells me I'm not smart, pretty, thin or good enough.  It's about time we took a leaf out of Sophie's book and tell our inner voice to shut the **** up!

I really enjoyed Poisoned; it's an absolutely fabulous version of Snow White for the 21st century.  It may officially be YA but it's definitely a book that can be read and enjoyed by adults, especially those who don't consider themselves too old for fairy tales.  Jennifer Donnelly has taken the magical ingredients originally gathered by The Brothers Grimm and whipped up an absolute feast for the eyes; I greedily devoured every single word and will definitely be back for more.

Wonderfully written and perfectly plotted, Poisoned is a magical and courageous tale with a feminist slant that upgrades a familiar story and brings it into the 21st century.   It leaves the reader with a strong message to believe in yourself and to listen to your heart rather than to other people.  A simply wonderful novel that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

About the author:

Jennifer Donnelly is the author of seven novels and a picture book for children. She grew up in New York State, in Lewis and Westchester counties, and attended the University of Rochester where she majored in English Literature and European History.

Jennifer's first novel, THE TEA ROSE, an epic historical novel set in London and New York in the late 19th century, was called 'exquisite' by Booklist, 'so much fun' by the Washington Post, a 'guilty pleasure' by People and was named a Top Pick by the Romantic Times.

Her second novel, A GATHERING LIGHT, won the Carnegie Medal, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Borders Original Voices Award, and was named a Printz Honor book. Described as 'rich and true' by The New York Times, the book was named on the Best Book lists of The Times (London), The Irish Times, The Financial Times, Publishers Weekly, Booklist and the School Library Journal.

REVOLUTION was named a Best Book by Amazon, Kirkus, School Library Journal, and the Chicago Public Library, and was nominated for a Carnegie Medal. The audio edition was awarded an Odyssey Honor for Excellence.

In 2014, Jennifer teamed up with Disney to launch the bestselling WATERFIRE saga, an epic series about six mermaids on a quest to rid the world of an ancient evil. The first book in the series, DEEP BLUE, was released in May, 2014; the second book, ROGUE WAVE, launched in January 2015.

Jennifer Donnelly lives in New York's Hudson Valley with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs.

Follow Jennifer at www.jenniferdonnelly.com or on Twitter: @JenWritesBooks

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Poison (Tales from the Kingdoms #1) - Sarah Pinborough

POISON is a beautifully illustrated re-telling of the Snow White story which takes all the elements of the classic fairytale that we love (the handsome prince, the jealous queen, the beautiful girl and, of course, the poisoning) and puts a modern spin on the characters, their motives and their desires. It's fun, contemporary, sexy, and perfect for fans of ONCE UPON A TIME, GRIMM, SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN and more.

What did I think?

After reading my first Sarah Pinborough book, Behind Her Eyes, I couldn't resist looking through her back catalogue.  The amazing cover of Poison caught my eye and once I knew it was an adult retelling of the fairytale, Snow White, I just had to buy it.  Even better, it's part of a trilogy with Charm (Cinderella) and Beauty (Sleeping Beauty) completing the set.  I have to say that if you want to read these books, do go for the hardbacks as the colours when they catch the light are simply magical.

There is enough of the original Snow White story to be recognisable, with the huntsman, dwarves and poison apple, but Sarah Pinborough has cleverly embellished and twisted it to make this a story of Snow White as never told before.

It's actually hard to review this without giving away any of the plot.  Ah but we already know the story of Snow White, you say...not this version you don't.  Will Snow White get her happily ever after in this twisted tale?  I'm not saying but suffice to say it captivated and entertained me from start to finish.  At the appearance of the poisoned apple, I would have clapped my hands with glee if it didn't mean putting the book down.  Not that I meant ill to Snow White, but we all know how the story goes...or do we?

Poison is fun, ingenious and risqué and I'd definitely recommend it to fans of Once Upon a Time.  I can't wait to read the next two in the series.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

The Stepmother - Claire Seeber

The perfect wife. A fairytale family. Don’t believe your eyes…

Jeanie and Matthew are a happily married couple who both have teenage children from previous relationships.

No one said it would be easy to raise a blended family under one roof but Jeanie and Matthew are strong. They will make it work.

And whilst Jeanie’s step-daughter Scarlett rejects her, Jeanie will just have to try harder to win her over.

But Jeanie has a past. A terrible secret she thought she’d buried a long time ago. And now, it’s coming to the surface, threatening to destroy her new marriage.

Someone is playing a terrifying game on Jeanie and she must put a stop to it once and for all.

After all, a fairytale needs a happy ending…doesn’t it? 

What did I think?

I may have mentioned in the past that my favourite fairy tale is Cinderella, but Snow White comes a close second.  The Stepmother is something of a modern fairy tale for grown-ups loosely based on Snow White, but with strange ghostly goings-on instead of cute little dwarfs.

Jeanie has had a tough life but she thinks her dreams have come true when she meets and marries Matthew, after a whirlwind romance.  Jeanie and her son, Frankie, move into Matthew's home which has an evil Queen style ornate mirror and its very own turret. Matthew has two children from his previous marriage: twins, Luke and Scarlett.  Scarlett's moods are as red as her name - she's very angry that her parents have split up and resents Jeanie moving into what was once their home.  Luke is more accepting and quiet on the outside, but is he more affected by his parents' split than we realise?

When strange things start to happen, all seemingly directed at Jeanie she feels her marriage crumbling before her eyes.  Jeanie has a secret (or two) hidden in her past and like many secrets, nothing ever stays buried for long.  As one of Jeanie's secrets is discovered, it is used against her and even Matthew doesn't side with her.  As Jeanie is mentally tortured, she starts to think that Matthew also has a few secrets hidden from her as the paranoia in The Stepmother reaches record levels.  As Jeanie's mind whirled with questions, I was eager to find out the answers too!  What really happened to his previous marriage?  What's behind the locked door?  Who is the woman whose post gets delivered to the house?  

The Stepmother kept me on my toes from start to finish; filled with secrets, lies and paranoia it's such a gripping read that I found difficult to put down.  I loved the links to Snow White: 'mirror, mirror on the wall', the good instead of evil step mother and the young beauty of the story being represented by red instead of white.  Hugely enjoyable, twisty and gripping: make sure you put The Stepmother on your list to read.

I received this e-book from the publisher, Bookouture, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon